2009 Dodge Ram - Busted Knuckles

'09 Dodge Ram Project

Dodge is currently building the best truck in its long history and the aftermarket community is taking notice with offerings for added performance, sleeker styling, and interior upgrades to make your Ram as custom as you want it to be. Last year in issue 5, we showed you a subtle example of an '09 Ram titled Ram Rod. We lowered it a bit, added some 24s, and tried to clean it up as best we could by paint-matching most of the body parts. That was then and this is now. With more time to wrench and more parts available, we've constructed a Ram worthy of your attention. In the next few issues, we'll show you how our Dodge went from factory-fresh to landing on our esteemed cover.

Taking a wrench to a perfectly good new truck meant we had to be very wise with our part selections. Our goal was simple-take a nice, factory-optioned truck and make it the most user-friendly, eye-pleasing, custom truck we could. No lambo doors, no 18s (but we would have kept them clean), and no parts that would compromise the luxurious feel of our new Ram. Each mod would be strategically chosen to increase the truck's fun factor, but also something that you could also do to your ride. We're going to focus on mostly bolt-on parts that over the course of a weekend in your garage, you too could reap the custom truck rewards that we're enjoying.

As you can see in the rendering, we're going to 'bag it using a bolt-on setup from Ride Tech. You read that correctly, a truly bolt-on affair that should have our Dodge looking nice and low. Wanting a wheel and tire combo that looked the high-end, yet tricked-out part, we contacted MHT for a set of 26-inch Illusion wheels that we plan on paint-matching. Nitto NT420S tires will add instant performance and the aggressive tread styling we're looking for. Brakes are a must, but as of this writing, we're still looking under stones for the right choice. Body styling will come from Mopar by way of O.C. Motorsports, with L&G Enterprises applying the House of Kolor Kandy paint. Power from the HEMI is already stout, but with a newly released supercharger from MagnaCharger, we should be spinning the tires with ease.

For a look at what direction we're taking inside the four doors, turn to page 92, and be sure to check back the next couple of months as our stock '09 Ram will be transformed from showroom fresh to show-ready daily driver.